moonininjuly

With about a week 7/8 days or so to travel between Christmas and New Years, what cities would you suggest? We are willing to rent a car and have school-age kids. We would like to experience the markets/festivals and natural beauty. Should we try to see Zagreb and the coast or just choose either the north or the south? We are not avid skiers, but could possibly do a day or two if part of a nice itinerary. Plitvice sounds nice too but not sure how much walking the kids can handle in the cold. Thank you. I know this is sort of broadly focused, but just not sure how much distance to try to cover.

neckervd

All depends oon your interests. You will find austro-hungarian looking small towns and may be snow in the North (Slavonia) and a much milder climate in the more Venice-like towns along the Southern half of the coast (Dalmacija).

kja

I would think you would be wise to focus on areas that do not depend heavily on tourism, perhaps Zagreb and Split. Depending on your interests, those two cities could easily fill your time. If weather and ferry schedules permit, you could, perhaps, visit Hvar as a day trip from Split, which also offers other day-trip options. If you opt for these 2 cities, consider flying into one and out of the other.

Park rangers at the Plitvice Lakes National Park can help you plan a walk that suits your needs. You could visit it between the two cities.

Are you accustomed to driving on snow? If not, consider taking public transportation. You would not need a car in either Zagreb or Split, and having a car in either city could be a disadvantage.

If you don’t already have one, please get a good guidebook, perhaps the Rough Guide.

moonininjuly

Thank you. We are from NY originally and my husband is the prospective driver.

Are you suggesting it would be perhaps easier to take a bus between Zagreb and Split?

It sounds like you both suggest not traveling both north and south given only one week. I think I am interested in both the Zagreb holiday markets and snowy landscape and seeing Dubrovnik without the crowds, but it is best to make a choice and not spread ourselves too thin.

kja

You could take a bus or train between Zagreb and Split: See rome2rio.com for your options -- just be sure to check the specific links to which it directs you, as rome2rio per se is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.

Split is my favorite city in Croatia, and it is a great base for many places.

If it doesn't capture your interest, you could also consider heading east from Zagreb to Varaždin, which should have some life, as it a university town. With Zagreb and some day trips (which would not require a car), you could easily fill your time in northern Croatia.

Personally, I would not try to visit Dubrovnik at this time of year -- I would think that too much would be closed. And fitting it into the same week-long trip that includes Zagreb and Split would really be pushing it, IMO.

moonininjuly

Thank you. This is just what I need to hear. It is so hard to judge the distances and amount of time. I am already thinking we will have to plan a second trip to Croatia to see more of this lovely land one day!

neckervd

Dubrovnik is a town with some 50 thousand inhabitants where people live since centenaries, all the year round. Only touristy things and tourist traps may be closed

moonininjuly

Dubrovnik sounds nice without the cruise ships for certain.